Courtesy of Korn Chinsawananon, Kari Hodges, Sora Bae Kim, and Nicholas Sze. Used with permission.
Annotated Bibliography
Franchising
Ambegaokar Maia and Louisiana Lush. “Family Planning and Sexual Health
Organizations: Management Lessons for health System Reform.” Health Policy
and Planning 2004 Oct; 19 Suppl 1:i22-i30. Print.
Advocates of health system reform think decentralized, market sensitive,
independent drug dispersion methods are more effective than traditional treatment
models. They point to franchise model successes as demonstrated by the family
planning sexual health (FP&SH) sector as case studies of the new model
possibilities. This paper explores three types of services models and evaluates their
significance, effectiveness, and the best methods for use or implementation. The
model exploration includes lessons learned from providing incentives, provider and
center autonomy, and the integration of marketing methods traditionally seen in
private industry. While the lessons are based on information collected from the FP
and SH field, many of the models, methods and obstacles family planning
organizations face are relevant to general health providers. These include building a
customer base and designing the most effective franchise model, as well as what
services will be most profitable/ needed by the community served and how best to
go about that.
Serge, Joel and Julia Tran. What Works: CareShop Ghana. Improving Access to
Basic Drugs through Conversion Franchising. World Resources Institute.
Although the CareShop franchise model has yet to turn a profit, it provides
innovative solutions for working in a crowded healthcare market. In Ghana 65
percent of healthcare services are provided by the private sector, with a large part
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provided by Licensed Chemical Sellers, or pharmaceutical providers.
Although
prevalent, the quality of care LCSs provide is variable. LCSs can be a public health
concern, as they are often not regulated in a way that forces compliance, which
results in the dispensing of counterfeit, substandard medicines.
With the support of the Ghana Social Marketing Foundation as its founding
organization, Careshop operates as a conversion franchise. This model appropriates
current Licensed Chemical Sellers into the Careshop network. The franchisees are
offered help with business operations, and access to a high quality consistent
pharmaceutical product. Careshop appropriates LCSs, then serves as exclusive
supplier of products. The LCSs are “contractually bound by clearly defined, strict
regulations on diagnosis, quality, and pricing of a specific list of drugs.“ The
Foundation buys drugs at a volume discount and sells the products to the
franchisees at wholesale price, making enough revenue, in principle, to fund the
shops and turn a profit.
Volumizing
Dawar, Niraj and Amitava Chattopadhyay. “Rethinking Marketing Programs
for Emerging Markets.” Long Range Planning 35 (2002) 457–474. Print.
Marketing strategy and methodology is key for effectively capturing market share,
creating product penetration and demand.
However in emerging markets,
marketing methodologies are often not targeted, resulting in companies serving the
“affluent few” as opposed to gaining share. Given that emerging markets have a
plethora of specific characteristics that offer great potential for marketing strategy
and profit, the authors examine marketing cases from around the world to identify
solid practices and how to incorporate them into relevant marketing plans.
Included recommendations are purchasing power pricing, building a multilayered
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distribution system, harnessing channel power and selling product to both users
and non-users. For products that consumers are not familiar with, the products
need to be aligned with broader customer needs.
Leatherman, Sheila, Marcia Metcalfe, Kimberley Geissler and Christopher
Dunford. “Integrating Microfinance and Health Strategies: Examining the
Evidence to Inform Policy
and Practice.” Health Policy and Planning 2012
Feb; 27:85–101 ß. Print.
Making a case for the involvement of microfinance organizations in health delivery
systems, the authors points to the extended networks, penetration capabilities and
ability to serve the remote poor as indicators of the potential importance
microfinance institutions could have in the health delivery industry. Equally
important the author points to the clients’ needs for both financial support and
health education as a reason why models of “independent” or –single service models
are not optimal in the battle against poverty or illness. Recently, some microfinance
organizations have begun integrating health education and basic clinic care into the
services they offer as well as health financing and connections to health providers.
While there is not much research on the intersection of these two disciples, some
data points to collaboration as a way of decreasing the number of barriers the poor
experience when soliciting help and increasing frequency of access.
Gupta, V.; Perepu, I. Living Goods- Developing a Sustainable Business Model to
Provide Healthcare Services in Uganda. ICMR Center for Management Research.
2010.
This case study explores the Living Goods model of care delivery in Uganda. Based
on the Avon model prevalent in the USA, Living Goods developed a trusted network
of women healthcare workers to disseminate medical and home goods to in-need
community members. Living Goods facilitated much of their growth and
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development through the BRAC network. LG partnered with BRAC, and used their
extended network on the ground in Uganda to screen community health providers.
Workers received micro loans from BRAC to purchase the medicines and supplies
necessary to be community health workers. Lastly, BRAC locations served as storage
and replenishment sites for LG, helping to decrease the overall costs of health care
delivery. Through diversified product delivery, LG has cross-subsidized its
healthcare work. Community health providers sold household goods, such as soap
and lanterns, to create higher profits and better margins for the workers. While it is
still unclear if the model is self-sufficient or can be, the case provides information on
methodologies used to keep costs down, grow a client base, and empower female
employees through income potential and social value.
Pricing
Bertini, Marco and John T. Gourville. “Pricing to Create Shared Value:
Rethinking the Way Prices are Set Can Expand the Pie for Everyone.” Harvard
Business Review 2012 June: 1-10. Online.
The authors argue that current pricing models are broken. Pointing to companies
such as Netflix and Marks& Spencer, who both lost significant market share after
changing their pricing models as cautionary tales, the authors recommend that
companies look at pricing not as an exercise in maximizing profits but in creating
relationships. It is an exercise in creating opportunities by pricing with a sharedvalue approach in mind based on consumer needs, and priorities as well as fairness.
Pricing is not a transaction but a way for companies to create new opportunities to
add value to their products and services as ways of increasing revenue. Amazon
Prime—a membership club for shoppers, which provides free shipping in exchange
for an $80 fee -- is used as an example of value pricing and proactivity, Prime
provides an additional service for a customer pain point, but through providing that
service it also encourages customers to do a larger portion of their shopping
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through the site essentially changing buying behaviors and increasing the
importance and relevance of Amazon in its consumer’s lives. This model of pricing
requires transparency, flexibility and fairness. Ikea, and JC Penny are also examined.
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